Fortitude Valley Baths

With Summer just around the corner and the temperatures rising, before long a trip to the local pool will be on the Sunday afternoon agenda. If Fortitude Valley Pool is your local, next time you head though the turnstile check out the great detail which the city architect of the time thought appropriate, and I think a wonderful touch!

Although much of the original building has been renovated, extended and changed, the facade remains intact and with it a balcony on axis with James Street. Such detailing of the time and what a great idea to transform the console brackets into Dolphins.

The City Architect was Alfred Herbert Foster who served in this position from 1925 until his death in 1932. Some other buildings designed during his time are the Bandstand in New Farm Park, the Kurilpa Library in West End and the ornate Power Sub-Station on the corner Gregory Terrace and Brunswick Street.

Brisbane Open House

Set aside some time on Saturday 2nd October for the inaugural Brisbane Open House 2010. BOH is the your chance to have exclusive back-of-house access to some of the cities greatest buildings accompanied by some of Brisbane's best architects as your tour guide.

Investigate some of our most historic architecture like Old Government House or Customs House, look behind the scenes at the National Australia Bank on Queen Street or get a birds eye view of town from high above street level in Santos Place or Riparian Plaza. There are many tours buildings to choose from catering for everyone's tastes and style.

BOH is an initiative of the Queensland Government Architect, Philip Follent, with great support from the Brisbane Development Association. This is Brisbane's way of celebrating World Architecture Day, held internationally on the first Monday of October. When else do you get a free-of-charge chance to see and hear the stories behind the architectural and engineering gems of Brisbane.

Best Time Ever

If you are heading north to Woodfordia next weekend to celebrate the 2010 Splendour in the Grass Festival, keep an eye out for the installation “Best Time Ever”. This collaboration between Byron Bay based Architect Dominic Finlay-Jones and Sydney artist Lauren Brincat is sure to arouse the imagination. They have conceived and built a towering staircase descending from the heavens, a project made possible by Arts NSW Initiative Splendid.

This large sculptural piece will draw the festival goers in from a distance, marking an important location at the Woodford Site. Up close the Installation will reveal another face, as it will act as a giant sun-dial, with notions dating back to the ancient equinoctial sundial Samrat Yantra at the same latitude North in India.

Cross disciplinary collaborations are becoming a more common occurrence in building projects, with the end product all the more richer for it! As Dominic has said, “As an architect, I find great pleasure in rationalising a crazy idea – of breaking it down, smoothing it out – figuring out how it might actually happen. Best Time Ever is one such big, crazy idea.”

All images Sourced from http://besttimeever.com.au/

Best time Ever - Splendour 2010

VENICE BIENNALE

AUSTRALIA ANNOUNCES URBAN VISIONS FOR THIS

YEAR'S VENICE BIENNALE

...the final submissions for the ‘Now + When Australian Urbanism’ exhibition

for the Australian Pavilion at this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale. The ‘Now’ element will present six of Australia’s most interesting urban and anti-urban aerial views as they are now, while the ‘When’ element (attached) shows 17 architecture practices’ futuristic urban visions of Australia in 40+ years time.

Given that Australia is one of the most urbanised continents on earth, with 93% of people living in cities, these architectural ideas comment profoundly on urban density and sprawl and will act as a catalyst for debate at the Biennale.

Both ‘Now’ and ‘When’ sections of the exhibition will be shown on a completely new form of 3D stereoscopic technology, beyond that of recent blockbuster movie releases.

The Fear Free City – Justina Karakiewicz, Tom Kvan and Steve Hatzellis

A future city, free from the fear of crime and antisocial behaviour, where many open spaces and all local amenities are within walking distance. Free from commuting, people will enjoy more recreational time. Movement is not limited to ground level, but happens at all levels allowing for extensive views of the city and surrounding country side.

Ocean City – Arup Biomimetics

A new underwater city, Syph, spawned from a rise in interest in biomimetic practices and materials in the advent of climate change. The migration of the Australian population from land to sea because of the sky-rocketing value of disappearing land, provided an opportunity to develop a new cityscape. A collection of specialised organisms function as a whole, with some pods being energy producers, some industrial, and others for sustainable farming and food production.

Island Proposition 2100 (IP2100) – Scott Lloyd, Aaron Roberts (room11) and Katrina Stoll

The Island Proposition 2100 embodies hyper-connectivity, the IP2100 spine contains a system of hybrid infrastructures, which will link future urban centres and their territories. The spine will transport people and goods using magnetic levitation (maglev) technology, carry energy, water and agriculture goods, convert ‘waste’ to resources, and provide living, industrial, and commercial spaces along the network. The linear axis will minimise sprawl and concentrate growth along its route, significantly reducing the time and pollution of current travel.

A castle ruin

A conversation between Ronan, Mr Scott and an old building in Maryborough, read on...

[ Ronan ]

Where do buildings go when they die?

On a site visit to Maryborough recently we discovered a masterpiece. A building of multiple additions clad in layers of corroding corrugated iron fills the landscape like a castle ruin.

Patina - The sheen on any surface, produced by age and use

And they Buy + Sell.

I want one. And so does Michael Scott!

[ Ronan ]

Michael, Any ideas what this building was used for??

[ Michael ]

“Industry! Definitely industry – where fact is stranger than fiction – I love industrial processes expressed in the building form – when the process is stripped out it’s hard to imagine how it worked and why it needed such eccentric architectural expression.”

Brisbane 1944... mystery photo location?

Attention brisbane history enthusiasts!

We have been sent this intriguing historical photo with the intention of trying to locate where it was taken...

"...I have an old photo of my Dad in 1944 in Brisbane. Can you tell where in Brisbane he is from this photo? Thanks ahead of time. This is genealogical research I am doing. Dad died in August. Any help would be appreciated."

Mark

Your contribution would be appreciated! please (comment on this post or) email though to brisbab@gmail.com where you think (preferably 99% certain of where) it is.

ANOTHER WHITE GEM!

Happy Haus
WHITE SERIES

Owen+Vokes

You could glance at this first image and briefly mistake it for a house in a 'suburban setting' - oh how nice it would be to have no fences? - anyway on closer review you'll notice it's a/the White Series Happy Haus by architects Owen and Vokes, located in southbank, corner grey and tribune streets.

So what's a Happy Haus?? Here is some recent press that best describes what it's all about... GREEN MAGAZINE article

Gardens and water storage have also been considered (pineapples in the garden look tasty, give them a few weeks and they be ready for picking)

it's great to see an example of (prefab) sustainable architecture pop up in the flesh - a positive step towards educating the general public!